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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Long-form journalism is an increasingly popular type of reading, and various models are available for reader fans. With options for subscription-based consumable platforms as well as per-title basis sales, there are a growing number of companies making content from well-known journalists and authors available.

Unfortunately, one of the more high-profile and pioneering companies in the long-form journalism sphere is facing increasing problems. Byliner, who has been plagued with reports of problems within the company, including the resignation of a number of its executives, including Sunday’s resignation of its CEO.

According to an article on the walkout for the Observer, Byliner has been mired with financial problems recently. Two different authors mentioned not receiving royalties or receiving pitiful amounts, leading them to believe there may have been deeper financial struggles involved.

The problem with this loss is it cuts the already small number of options (compared to major retailers of full-length fiction and non-fiction) for readers at a time when both subscription models and this length of work are seeing a surge in popularity. Hopefully Byliner’s model and ability to bring in major authors like Margaret Atwood and Jon Krakauer will make a come back and keep readers’ options open.

Windows Phone users have little options for quality e-reading apps. The only mainstream one that has been available for quite awhile was issued by Amazon. Readers now have an alternative with the advent of the Kobo Books app.

Kobo has been developing their Windows Phone app for over six months. The main reason it took so long to get their app ready for prime time was the revision of their app for Windows 8. Kobo had originally developed their e-reading app for Windows when it was still in beta and many users were unhappy with the overall build quality. Kobo went back to the drawing board and took down their app until they were happy with the end result. They reissued it in March and promised that a Windows Phone edition was forthcoming, and now its publically available.

The Kobo Windows Phone app is quite solid, it allows users to tap into an ecosystem of over 4 million eBooks, kids books, comics and graphic novels. This app has a larger international footprint than Amazon, it will work in more countries to buy and read books.

As Amazon gets ready to launch their new 3D smartphone tomorrow, news stories are cropping up all over the web with new details about the alleged smartphone, along with rumors and speculation about any and all of Amazon’s other services and projects. Businessweek published a story that is getting parroted quite thoroughly by several tech […]

Reorganize kitchen cabinets and drawers in a manner that make any type of sense

This is my current list of summer projects. I am sure the list will grow and I will proudly (and tiredly) cross off many items. That's one of my favorite things about summer. While I do love the beach and relaxing in the backyard with my Kindle and some Summer Shandy, the great weather and longer days provide the best opportunity to be creative and tackle new projects you can't do when you're freezing and covered in snow.

I have compiled a lists of books that will prove to be incredibly useful to me this summer while I roll up my sleeves and attempt to use tools whose name I always get wrong. I'm sure your patrons will get plenty of use out of them as well…

The other day when I discovered that the Kobo ebook store is now available on my Sony Reader PRS-T2, I found that the setup and Kobo store was a bit confusing. Kobo does things a little differently than Sony, so it takes some getting used to at first. Now that I’ve got everything figured out, […]

Oyster is of the more popular ebook subscription services—sort of like Netflix for ebooks—and up until now their ebooks have been exclusive to apps for the iPad and iPhone. Now Oyster has added an Android app that works with tablets and phones running Android 4.0 and up, including the reading-centric Kindle Fire and Nook HD […]

Last December, PocketBook and E Ink announced plans to release a 13.3″ Android-powered E Ink ereader called the PocketBook CAD Reader, a device packaged with Autocad software designed for engineers, architects, and other professionals in the construction field. When the PocketBook CAD Reader was first announced, E Ink revealed that it would be using a […]

In the ongoing and tension-filled proceedings against Apple for its role in an anti-trust investigation and resulting lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice and multiple states’ attorney general, the company has fought back at nearly every turn. Some have questioned whether this was more a matter of principle than anything else, as the attorneys’ fees alone have to have been more than the original damages.

Which is why we’re breathing a collective sigh of relief at the news that Apple settled out of court yesterday, at least where the various lawsuits filed on behalf of consumers in thirty-three states and territories are concerned.

Apple agreed to settle in the states’ consumer lawsuits to avoid a jury trial that could have resulted in damages as high as $840 million, once punitive amounts are factored in. The terms of the settlement haven’t been made public as they still have to be filed with the court and receive court approval; this settlement, however, has an escape clause.

All throughout this legal battle, Apple has fought Judge Denise Cote on nearly every ruling, and have filed multiple motions and appeals; at one point, Apple was back in court for directly refusing to work with the court-appointed monitor that Cote ordered as a result of ruling against Apple in the initial phase.

Apple is still waiting for the results of the most important appeal in the case, the one that basically seeks to overturn the first ruling against them. That ruling found that they had essentially instigated illegal price fixing measures in their efforts to work with the Big Five publishers to lessen Amazon’s stronghold on the ebook market. When that appeal is finalized, that’s when Apple’s settlement will kick in.

Basically, the tech giant is able to say, “We’re settling out of court with you guys, but only if we have to.” Should Apple win its appeal, the settlement will become void.

“As set forth in the memorandum of understanding, any payment to be made by Apple under the settlement agreement will be contingent on the outcome of that appeal,” Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, the plaintiffs’ lead lawyer, wrote in a letter to the judge. Berman stated that he couldn’t comment on the settlement until the final papers were filed, and an Apple spokeswoman also refused to comment on the terms of the settlement.